1. Please tell our readers about yourself and what you do in the band?
My name is Raymond Gilstrap and I play bass in the band Estoria. I occasionally play synth parts on keyboard and I am also the rap vocalist in the band.
2. What is your favorite song to perform and why?
That is a hard question for me to answer. Hmm . . . I enjoy playing “Warrior” because the crowd really enjoys that song. Vocally, I like “Beauty Meets the Beast” because when we recorded our EP with Travis Wyrick, he really pushed me to rap at a higher pitch on that song. It was a difficult song for me to record vocally, but in the end I was very proud of it. As far as rocking out, I love “From Darkness” because it is fast paced and upbeat and one of the few songs where I don’t have any vocal parts, so I can go all out by jumping off of stage and doing guitar tricks!
3. Who, musically, do you enjoy listening to, who have influenced you? (Christian or non-Christian)
I grew up listening to almost nothing but hip hop and rap until my last few years of high school, so I was influenced early on by rappers such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Outkast. But in college, I started listening to different types of music from rock to metal to Christian rock to even country. Now, I enjoy listening to Skillet, Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Breaking Benjamin, Taking Back Sunday, Linkin Park, Evanescence, Paramore, Coldplay, and 12 Stones. Now that I have started playing bass at church I’m starting to listen to more and more worship songs as well. I grew up listening to gospel music but worship songs are a new thing to me! I’m influenced more so by life than by other music but I try to incorporate elements from some of the bands I listen to, like Coldplay, Paramore, Evanescence, and Skillet.
4. What’s your favorite scripture from the Bible, why is it important to you?
I love Mark 2:17 – “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” This has become my personal motto and the motto of the band. It is important to me because it means that it is my duty as a Christian to reach out to those people who may be in places that others are afraid to go. Recently, my pastor at church summed up that Bible verse perfectly by saying: “Do what no one else will do to reach people no one else will reach, go where no one else will go to reach people no one else will reach, and befriend people who no one else is willing to befriend.” That’s why Estoria plays in bars in addition to churches and other venues, so that we can minister to people who may not know the Lord. That’s why we played on the beach in Panama City a few weeks ago during spring break, to reach out to people who might be lost.
5. What’s your most embarrassing moment on stage (if you’ve had any) … if not has any of the others?
In February, we played an acoustic show. After our set, I felt suddenly compelled to play an extra song. It was one of our older songs that we hadn’t played in a while; however, I felt we could pull it off. I also wanted to play it because the members of one of the other bands that played with us that night really liked that song. So, we play the song and halfway through my rap verse, my mind goes blank and I forget the words. I managed to recover by freestyling a few of the last lines but it threw the entire band off and we skipped a part before the final chorus!
6. What are your thoughts on how mainstream Christian music has become with bands like Skillet, P.O.D. & Flyleaf becoming popular in the secular markets?
I am glad that Christian artists are being played in secular markets. Going back to the Bible verse that I quoted, I think it is a good thing that these artists are able to reach people who may not have had the chance to hear their music before. These artists are performing in places where they have the opportunity to spread the love of God and show non-believers that Christians can be cool too. I think music is a good avenue because positive, uplifting song lyrics can relate to the lives of everyone, whether you’re a Christian or not. We have played some shows with a band from Nashville called Flawless Pursuit. These guys are Christians and towards the end of their shows, no matter the venue, their drummer always takes the mic and tells the crowd a little about Jesus Christ and asks the audience to visit their merch booth after the show where the band can pray for anyone who might need prayer. It’s a wonderful sight to behold and we want to start doing more stuff like that in our live shows, like praying on stage before our shows instead of off stage where the crowd can’t see us.
7. If Estoria was to record a ‘cover’ song what would you want it to be?
There are a million songs I wouldn’t mind covering. LOL! This is a very hard question because I like so many songs! I don’t think I could ever decide on one song!
8. You have a quote on your Facebook page … “They say there’s two sides to every story. Two faces to ever person in the eyes of truth and glory” … what does this mean?
This quote is from some old lyrics that I wrote a while ago. I have always felt that there are two fighting sides that are always at war within a person—a good side and a bad side. The good side, of course, tells a person what is right, while the other side, a bad side, tempts a person to do wrong. For me, the good side represents my relationship with God, where as the bad side is associated with Satan and the temptations of sin. I feel that good people are able to withstand temptation and suppress that darker side that is always present and is always trying to gain dominion over the lighter side. That’s why our The War EP means so much to me and why we chose to record songs that had a similar theme focusing on the struggle between light and darkness. I actually wrote part of the chorus lyrics to our song “From Darkness”, which says, “If you’ve never seen the light, then you don’t know how it feels to leave it all behind you and leave the darkness behind.” Only those who have faced the darkness before can really appreciate the light and as sinners, we have all sinned before, which makes it all the more worthwhile to triumph over sin and to know that our savior died on the cross for our sins.
9. Any final thought’s that you’d like to add before closing out?
I would like to give all the glory to God. He is the reason why I have been blessed with the talent to write music and all thanks goes to him first and foremost. I would like to thank BTTW Church for constantly promoting us and helping us to spread our music. You all are doing an amazing job on a social media site that is often plagued by so much negativity. It’s awesome to see your ministry spreading light among the darkness and for that, I thank you! I would also like to thank my band mates for being there for me through all the good times and the bad. I love them all. Each one of them always brings something awesome to the table and I’m blessed to be able to make beautiful songs with this group of individuals. We finally have a solid lineup and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in the future!
10. We always like to leave these interviews in a word of prayer … will you lead that prayer for us?
Certainly! Dear Jesus, first and foremost, I just thank you for your goodness, your mercy and your grace. I just ask that you continue to be with Travis and Sarah and their BTTW ministry. Help them to continue to grow and spread your love throughout Facebook and in other avenues to reach people who may not know you through music, sermons, devotionals, and inspirational quotes. I thank you for their Verses contest and for the connections Estoria has made through the support of BTTW church and others. I pray that you continue to work through Estoria and BTTW Church and continue to bless us so that we may bless others. We thank you for every single blessing you have bestowed upon us. Thank you for being there for us through the good times, and especially the bad times. I ask that you be with us always as we navigate the sometimes treacherous roads of life. Your love never fails us Lord, and so we honor you and give you the highest praise because we couldn’t do what we do without you. Jesus, we love you and it is in your precious name with pray. Amen!
i know that guy
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